Come Worship At The Temple (April 23, 2023)

Talk given at the YSA Ft. Smith Branch--

The family story goes that when I was five or six years old, I told my parents that I was getting married in the Provo Temple.  That might not seem remarkable to you now, but when I was that age, it was around 1960 and no temple was in Provo.  I was born in Provo shortly after my dad’s graduation from BYU, but we moved when I was a few weeks old to eastern Washington where I grew up. Because we had no relatives in Utah, we never went back.  My parents assumed that I thought “all” towns in Utah had temples and thought it was cute and would ask me to tell their friends where I was going to be married. That is the part I remember! I asked my mom once when I was an adult why didn’t they tell me there was no temple in Provo.  She said that they were happy I set a goal so early to be married in the temple and decided that I would figure out the rest at some point.  And, of course, I did. 

But in 1967 the Provo Temple was announced and I knew that it was the place where I was to be married!  And despite the fact that the bulk of Elder Hall’s family lived in the Ogden Temple district and north of there (which Elder Hall’s mom reminded him looked just the same as Provo!), they all drove down in a blizzard to see our marriage in the Provo Temple.  I also received my endowment on the same day, which was very common back then. At one point, Elder Hall said to me that he thought I was more excited to get my endowment than to get married.  That wasn’t exactly true, but I had been waiting my whole life to enter the Provo Temple and the day had finally arrived. I knew very little about what to expect. But the one thing I did expect was the outpouring of the spirit which was in abundance.  I loved it!  Time and time again throughout that experience, I felt impressions and confirmations that I was in the right place doing the right thing.  I know it is not like that for everyone, but it was a remarkable and revelatory experience.

After we were married, we settled in Springfield, MO for the first 10 months of our marriage where Elder Hall was working for a small startup computer company.  It wasn’t until a new job and a move to Utah, that I learned something else about temples—we had a responsibility to attend the temple on a regular basis.  Our ward at the time wanted us to go once a month and actually passed a clip board around during Sunday School for us to mark our attendance.  Weird as it might sound, I really had no idea about that aspect of the gospel. I knew that we could do “work for the dead” and thought that was an amazing principle of the gospel. But temple attendance wasn’t something I had heard much about.

My parents were faithful members of the Church, and we all knew that having a current temple recommend was very important to both of them.  However, when I grew up, the closest temple was in Idaho Falls about 14 hours away.  Limited funds and time meant that my parents only attended the temple 4 or 5 times during my growing up years.  

I think we do a better job in the Church now, preparing and talking about the temple and its importance in our lives.  And we are living in a time of amazing temple building—close to us in Bentonville and soon in Springfield, Mo, as well as far away places like Hamburg, Germany and Jakarta, Indonesia,

President Russell Nelson at the end of the last Conference stated: “Jesus Christ is the reason we build temples. Each is His holy house. Making covenants and receiving essential ordinances in the temple, as well as seeking to draw closer to Him there, will bless your life in ways no other kind of worship can.”

In another address, he said:

“The temple lies at the center of strengthening our faith and spiritual fortitude because the Savior and His doctrine are the very heart of the temple. Everything taught in the temple, through instruction and through the Spirit, increases our understanding of Jesus Christ. His essential ordinances bind us to Him through sacred priesthood covenants. Then, as we keep our covenants, He endows us with His healing, strengthening power.³ And oh, how we will need His power in the days ahead.”

 

So how to we access this healing and strengthening power available to us in the temple?  What is temple worship? How do we engage in temple worship in ways that draw us closer to Christ and to our Heavenly Father?

 

I have complied a list of ideas which might be helpful to you as you approach entering the temple whether for the first time or for the 100^th time—many of them are small suggestions or things that you already do.  As I talk, write down the ideas that come into your mind as you listen—let the spirit teach you ways that you can enhance your own temple worship.

1.     Work towards and obtain a temple recommend.  Set a goal to always have a current temple recommend. 

Sister Anne Pingree shared a story of serving as mission leaders with her husband in West Africa where the closest temple was over 3000 miles away.  She shared the following experience: “When we arrived, I noticed among those waiting in the searing heat were two Relief Society sisters dressed in bold-patterned wrappers, white blouses, and the traditional African head-ties.

Many hours later, after all the interviews were completed, as my husband and I drove back along that sandy jungle trail, we were stunned when we saw these two sisters still walking. We realized they had trekked from their village—a distance of 18 miles round trip—just to obtain a temple recommend they knew they would never have the privilege of using….

In her hand, carefully wrapped in a clean handkerchief, each sister carried her precious temple recommend. I carry their examples of faith carefully wrapped in my heart.” 

 

We do not have to travel 18 miles by foot in the African heat to visit with our bishops or branch president.  However, sometimes we do have to do the hard things to put our lives in order to be worthily to attend the temple.  Do those things and treasure your temple recommend like those sweet African sisters.

 

2.     Prepare for temple worship before you enter the doors of the temple. 

Try not to be rushed—hurrying to make a session, hurrying home again.  For me, playing Church music on the way to the temple helps set the mood I want to have as I entered the temple.  I try to arrive at the temple in time to spend time reading the scriptures prior to the session starting.  Reading chapters specifically about the Savior such as 3 Nephi 17 or Matthew 26, 27 and 28 are a sweet beginning to the ordinances in a session.

3.     Enter the temple with reverence and leave the world at the door.

Lionel Kendrick, a Seventy stated:  “When we enter the temple, we should leave the world behind. We should feel what it would be like when we enter the presence of the Lord. We may consider what thoughts we would think and what communications we would have in His holy presence. If we can catch the vision of this eventual event, it will help us in preparing to enter His presence and in leaving the world behind as we enter His temple.”

For a number of years in the late 1980s and early 1990s, we lived in Hong Kong.  During that time, I went on a temple trip with other ward members to the Taipei Taiwan Temple.  Built in the middle of this very large city, there is a very distinct difference between the dirt and clamor of the city streets and the quiet peaceful nature of the temple grounds.  We stayed overnight in patron housing on the grounds of the temple.  However,  there was no food there.  So, in the morning, we got dressed in casual clothes and walked out to find breakfast.  Then we would come back, change into our Church clothes, walk the 100 feet to the temple to prepare to enter and change our clothes again.  We did that whole process for lunch and dinner as well—that is a lot of changing of clothes. 

Back then and perhaps still today, when you entered the Taipei Temple, you stopped and removed your shoes in the small entry of the temple …just like you would in entering most traditional Chinese homes. It was a small thing, but a slight change to my “normal” routine and I loved it.  It seemed like a small symbolic way to leave the world behind.  Now 30 years later, I think about that experience and try to pause, take a breathe—think about removing my shoes as I enter the temple and leave the world behind.

4.  4. After you have gone to the temple for yourself, set a regular time to attend the temple. 

Make it a goal—a commitment to yourself and to God—and work hard to do it.  Unlike the “clip board” reporting of that earlier ward, this is a personal matter between you and God and highly variable and will change over the course of your lives as work, school, Church and family commitments ebb and flow.  Effort and energy are required, not a specific goal.  I remembered a time about 10 years ago that we were challenged to set a goal for our temple attendance at Stake Conference.  Our stake president wanted us to set a number for the next six months.  I had just stopped a part-time job that I had and one of the reasons was to attend the temple more frequently.  I started trying to count the weeks in my head when the number 8 came to mind!  8 was just a tiny bit more than once a month.  I started to argue in my head, but the feeling remained- 8 should be my goal.  And as life is, unexpected things happened with our children, with my Church callings, with neighbors and friends---and a few weeks before our next stake conference, I was hurrying to meet my goal of eight.  That taught me again an important lesson—God knows me and He knows what is ahead.  He helped me set a goal appropriate for that time and season of my life. Let Him help you make and achieve appropriate personal goals for temple attendance.

5.   5. Take opportunities to be involved in all of the covenants for your ancestors available in the temple.

It is surprising to me how many people have not returned and taken the opportunity to do sealings or the other covenants in the temple. Referring back to that same ward temple trip to Taiwan, we did baptisms and all of the ordinances throughout the day.  The Chinese workers were so excited because they had saved “easy Chinese names” for us to do—knowing that the English-speaking ward was coming!  I appreciated that.

6.    6. In the temple, take time to pray for the person for whom you are doing work for. 

If it is an ancestor of yours, take time before coming to the temple to learn a bit about them and rehearse in your mind what you know.  Pray that they might accept the covenants being made in their behalf. It is a holy thing to stand in place of someone—in their behalf –and make these sacred promises.  Christ’s call is always to each of us—one by one—to come unto Him.  How great it is that we can be a part of that process for those who have gone before us.

7.     Express your thankfulness for the temple, its ordinances, and the spirit that you find there.

Richard G. Scott stated: “Always prayerfully express gratitude for the incomparable blessings that flow from temple ordinances. Live each day so as to give evidence to Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son of how very much those blessings mean to you.”

I love that!  Especially the last line: “Live each day so as to give evidence to Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son of how very much those blessings mean to you.”  Four of our five children were adopted and we have been able to take them to the temple to be sealed to us and our family for eternity.  How grateful I am for temples and I testify that families can be eternal as we strive to stay on the covenant path.

You have probably heard that you should have a picture of the temple in your room to remind you of the blessings of the temple.  That is a powerful truth.  But more important is to have a picture of the temple in your heart and as part of your daily worship of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Why is temple worship important?  In D&C Section 109---which is the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple—we read in verse 22-

….that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy ^aname may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine ^bangels have charge over them;”

By worshipping in the temple, these promises can be ours.

President Nelson has counseled us: “In every age, the temple has underscored the precious truth that those who make covenants with God and keep them are children of the covenant………

 

Under the Lord’s direction and in answer to our prayers, recent procedural adjustments have been made. He is the One who wants you to understand with great clarity exactly what you are making covenants to do. He is the One who wants you to experience fully His sacred ordinances. He wants you to comprehend your privileges, promises, and responsibilities. He wants you to have spiritual insights and awakenings you’ve never had before. This He desires for all temple patrons, no matter where they live……..He is providing opportunities for each of us to bolster our spiritual foundations more effectively by centering our lives on Him and on the ordinances and covenants of His temple. When you bring your temple recommend, a contrite heart, and a seeking mind to the Lord’s house of learning, He will teach you……I promise you that over time, the temple will become a place of safety, solace, and revelation.”

 

So many promises from our prophet---safety, solace, revelation, learning, strengthening of our spiritual foundations---

While these are blessings that I still need in my own life, it is even more imperative for you.  As a young adult, you are just starting life as an independent follower of Jesus Christ.  The world around you is loud and contentious.  It is all the more important as you are “setting your sails on your mortal life” that you fix Christ and worship in His temples center in your lives.  Make opportunities to attend the temple and go with an open mind and reverent spirit with the intent of worshipping there; accept assignments to serve if asked; invite friends to come to the upcoming open house and share your testimony of Jesus Christ and His Holy House with them.  Invite branch members to attend the temple with you.  Do family history work to provide family names to take to the temple.  In all things, express gratitude to Heavenly Father and Christ for the blessings of temples.

In closing, I would like to share one final experience. We are from Syracuse Utah and live currently in the Ogden Temple district which is about 25 minutes from our house.  I rarely ever go to the temple on Saturdays because it is always very busy.  One Saturday morning, as I said my morning prayers, I felt a strong impression to go to the temple. And while I reminded myself that Saturday mornings are crazy at the Ogden Temple, the impression was very strong, so I let Elder Hall know I was going to the temple and got ready and headed off.  As I walked into the dressing room, I “ran into” an old friend who I hadn’t seen for about 10 years.  It was wonderful and we hugged and talked quietly for a couple of minutes and off she went home while I prepared for the session.  I didn’t think much about it until I received a message through messenger from her later that day.  She shared about being woken up early with a strong desire to be at the temple that morning—not on her plans for the day—but then going through the whole session with no clear feeling of why she was there.  However, when she saw me, it reminded her of some spiritual experiences and conversations that we had had together over 10 years ago and that remembering had answered some questions she was facing in her life at this time.  She felt our meeting was a direct answer to her questions from our Heavenly Father.  It was.  I was there only because I had been told to go.  Heavenly Father and Jesus love her that much---and He loves you that much, too.

Come to His holy House, worship there, and claim the promised blessings.  You will find peace, comfort, and miracles there.  Of this I testify, in the holy name of Jesus Christ. Amen.